Some lighting systems permit one or more light sources thereof to be controlled via a handheld wireless controller.
Typically, a small group of light sources (e.g. the light sources in a workspace) will have a dedicated controller, which is configured to communicate with those light sources only. A person wishing to vary the light settings of one or more of the light sources must first locate the controller, and then determine how to use it. A user may consider it more convenient to control the light settings using his or her personal handheld computing device, e.g. smartphone or tablet computer.
The applicant's co-pending patent application, no. PCT/IB2012/051370, discloses a handheld computing device which is configured to use its image sensor to record variations in the light emitted by a light source, and then to derive information from the recorded variations. The information may include an identifier of the light source, such as a MAC address and/or IP address. It is envisaged that such a device could, once it has received the MAC address and/or IP address of a light source, be used to communicate with and thereby control the light source e.g. via WiFi or Zigbee. The device would require the user to determine when to activate the image sensor, and to position and orient the device such that the image sensor is able to record the variations in the emitted light. For example, the user would be required to ‘take a picture’ of the light sources which are to be controlled. This might be suitable for specialist applications such as commissioning lighting systems, but non-specialist users may consider it to be inconvenient.